Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding is a touching movie about the somewhat rushed marriage of an Indian family's only daughter and the numerous other intricately connected subplots on the days leading up to the wedding ceremony. New love blossoms as old secrets are revealed. The story is poignant, the filmmaking is active, and the costume and set design are colorful and vibrant. The acting feels natural and real, and I especially liked the integration of English and Hindi. Nair paints a very convincing portrait of modern Indian culture, right down to the earthy hues, and she does it in a way that doesn't alienate people like me who aren't fans of Bollywood cinema.
Nair's later film The Namesake is not nearly as good, in my eyes. It sprawls too much. Monsoon Wedding is contained to a few days, which helps for the narrative's structure and the audience's expectations of where they are in the movie and when it's going to end. All in all, this movie is an excellent example of non-Bollywood Indian cinema and is a fun--but not shallow--movie on the ties that bind us together, whether through love, family, or culture. Highly recommended.IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0265343/